Artificial ear-drum.



v No. 887,563 PATENTED MAY 12, 1908.

G. H. WILSON.

ARTIFICIAL EARPRUM. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1907.

UITED ARTIFICIAL No. 887,563. $peciiication of EAR-DRUM.

Letters Patent. Patented May 12, 1908.

Application filed September 1%, 1967. Serial Nd. 392,910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. WILSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Louisville, in the county of Jeil'erson and State ofKentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in Artificial Ear-Drums, of which the following is a specificatron.

My present invention relates to improvements in artificial ear drumsadapted to be employed supplementary to or as substitutes for thenatural tympanum, and it has for its object toprovide an improved deviceof this character that is so shaped as to corn form closely to thecontour of the orifice of the ear for the purpose ol' facilitatingpositioning of the drum and prevent its dislocation, the edges at theouter or open end of the drum being so formed that they are capable ofautomatically adjusting themselves to the size of the orifice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a drum of thischaracter having a bu bous portion at its inner end which is adapted tofit against the walls of the tympanic cavity, the innercndof the bulbouspor tion constituting a relatively large diaphragm which is adapted tocooperate'with the natural tympanum, or to serve as a substitute for thelatter when destroyed, the relatively large area of the diaphragminsuring sensitiveness, and the bulbous portion engages the walls of theorifice and thereby prevents dis lacement of the diaphragm.

X further object of the invention is to provide an ear drum of thischaracter having means for properlyventilating the inner cavi ties ofthe ear for the purposes of insuring a healthycondition thereof.

To these and other ends, th e invention consists in certainimprovements, and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will behereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed outparticularly in. the claims at the end of the specification.

In the lrawingsl*igure 1 is a perspec ti've view of an artificial eardrum constructed in accord anoe with my present invention; Fig. 2represents a longitudinal section taken in a vertical plane relativelyto the drum shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2, thesection being taken in aplane at right angles to that of the precedingfigure; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing a manner of applying theartificial drum to Similar reference c aracters in the several figures.

The ear drum shown in the present em bodiment of my invention, comprisesgenerallyfa hollow body that is shaped to'cone iorin substantially withthe walls of the orifice or canal of the hurnan ear, that is to say, oneend thereof is substantially closed and of vap roximately bulbous form,the

sides 1 of t e bulbous. 'ortionof the drum being adapted to lie in cose'relation to-or to engage the walls of the tympanic cavity of the ear,the rear e'ndfi of the bulb being preferably rounded and'serves as asensitive diaphragm which is adapted to engage or cooperate with thenatural tyinpanum in those cases wherein the latter is injured or)diseased so that its acoustic properties are impaired, and should thetympanum be wholly destroyed, the diaphragm serves an artificialtympanum through the medium of which sound waves are transmitted to theIn either case the close. fit of the bulb within tliewalls of the canalosition. the

auditory nerve.

serves to accurately center or p diaphragm thereof, so that t eartificial drum may be readily aJ-pliedjand dislocation thereof isprevented. i

in order to provide a proper ventilation of the inner cavity of the car,it is preferable to rovide the bulbous portion of the drum wit one ormore ventilating openings, '8. pair of these openings 3 being shown inthe present instance which are located in the side walls of th s bulb,this arrangement being generally preferable for the reason that directcurrents of air cannot reach the sensitive parts of the ear, but it willbe understood that any number of these openings may be employed and theymay be arran ed, desired. The ventilation thus allori ed insures auniform temperature within the ear, and

the drums promote a sweating process which the human ear.

erable to provide yieldable or resilient lips 5 partsare designated bythe same i which. are capable of expandingor contracting. in diameteraccording to the size of the canal into which they are fitted, thoseshown in the present instance being formed by recesses in the edge ofthe drum adjacent to the mouth or opening therein.

A. cross piece 6 preferably extends diametrically of the drum inproximity to the mouth or opening therein, and it serves the dualfunction of spacing the opposite walls of ie drum to prevent collapsing,and it provii a convenient hold for forceps or other instruments thatare usually employed in renio'i the drum, the notched portions beingpreferably arranged at opposite sides of the cross piece in order tofacilitate applicatier-L oi the forceps,

In practice, the artificial drums may be made of rubber or othersuitable material, and while I have illustrated and described hat i nowconsider to be the best embodiment of the invention, it willbe'understood, of course, that the drums may be made in various formswhich willpossess the advantages that I have described.

my invention: v

ear drum having a bulbous its inner end adapted to engage the i mpaniccavity of the ear of t e bulbous portion being d forming a diaphragm ofsubstantially the full diameter of the bulbous portion.

2, An artificial drumembodying a hollaw body having a closed bulbousportion cne end adapted to engage the. walls of the '-tympanic cavityand forming an enlarged diaphragm of regular curvature having its convexside directed inwardly and adapted to cooperate with the naturaltympanum.

3. An artificial ear drum composed of a hollow body reduced anintermediate point to form a bulbous portion at its inner end, and aflared mouth at its outer end. the

edges of the month end of the body being notched to form relativelyyieldable lips, and the inner end of the bulbous portion being closed bya relatively large rounded diaphragm having its convex side adapted tocooperate with the natural tympanum, ahd a cross-piece extending acrossthe open mouth of the body and connecting the relatively yieldable lipsthereof.

4. An ear drum comprising a hollow body havin a mouth at one endprovided with yielda ble lips adapted to accommodate themselves to theauditory canal of the ear and having its opposite end closed to form avibratory dia hragm.

5. An ear r rum comprising a hollow body having a flared mouth at oneend, the edges of the body adjacent to the mouth being notched to formyieldable lips adapted to accommodate themselves to the diameter of theauditory canal and having its 0 posite cnd closed by a diaphragm formedintegrally therewith.

6. An ear drum comprising a hollow body substantially closed at one endto form a diaphragm and having a end provided with yieldable lips, and arigid cross piece connecting the said lips in proximity to the mouth.

7. An ear drum comprising a hollow body substantially closed at one endto form a diaphragm and provided with a mouth at its 0 positc end, across piece connecting the wal of the body in roxnnity to the mouth, anda pair of yieldablb lips formed by notching the edges of the bodyadjacent to the mouth thereof and connected by the cross piece.

In tcstimon y whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing wit- HOSSCS.

GEORGE II. WILSON. Witnesses:

B. G. SNYDER, P. M. OREILLY.

mouth at its opposite

